Scb1712

Hi all,
After searching the forums I’ve found a lot of great info on this topic, though it also seems quite divided. As far as I’ve been able to figure, there seems to be no way to determine what may be causing PASM faults between the shocks or the PASM controller. Which leads to my question. I was recently looking at an 06 997.1 and the owner mentioned that the PASM stopped working a couple of months ago so the car is stuck in sport. (Which made sense as the suspension felt like concrete).

Sure enough the local Indy ran the codes and it is showing valve failure on 3 of the 4 Bilstein coil overs. So the Indy suggests replacing shocks/ springs on all 4 corners with OEM equipment at a cost of about $6k. Now I realize that shocks can and do wear out, but my thinking is that the likelihood of 3 shocks going bad cl the same time is lower than the controller itself going wrong. Would it make more sense to switch out the controller first, or better yet, find some way of testing either the controller or shocks to make an informed diagnosis?

Wayne Smith

Unplug and plug in the connector on the control box located in the outer side of the passenger's foot well several times. That may clean the connections and get it working again. Then buy a TPC DSC controller.

Scb1712

Thanks Wayne. Worth a shot.. Would I need to have my local Indy clear the codes first, or would unplugging it reset them? Also, I thought the controller was in the drivers footwell?

Petza914

Passenger footwell and you'll probably have to remove the thin foam cover to get to it. Inspect the shocks and see if there is any evidence of oil on them. If there is, the shocks have failed. If you end up replacing them, I wouldn't spend $6k for OEM shocks and would buy Bilstein B16 coilovers instead, which will perform much better and still be PASM compatible so you can still upgrade to the DSC controller Wayne mentioned.

Scb1712

Thanks, I’ll see if I can locate the controller. The car actually already has Bilstein B16´s on it. I was looking at the shocks recently and couldn’t see any oil on them, but I also couldn’t see the top very well. They had a normal amount of dirt on them given what the rest of the bottom of the car looked like. How hard is it to replace coil overs by oneself?

Petza914

With B16s, you have a cable exiting out the bottom of the front shock that goes to a 2.pin connector. That's an extension section with another plug under the covers under the hood that actually are the factory connector. Make sure the wire coming out the bottom of the shock isn't cut or damaged and that both connectors are eolugged together well and in the same orientation. If someone reverses any one of those 2 pin connections it will put the PASM in error mode and ride will be full stiff.

Changing them isn't terrible, but you need spring compressors to safely get the hardware off the top and and if you're taking them apart, reinstall them with thrist bearings on the spring perch which will prevent any binding and noises (creaking and popping) when turning the wheels.